Daughters of Wisdom, USA Province

Sr. Mary Stuart, DW

Sr. Christopher of Mary

February 2, 1960, 60 years professed

Daughter of Mary and Michael Stuart, Sr. Mary was born on October 4, 1939, and made her first profession on February 2, 1960. Reflecting on 80 years of life and 60 years of profession, Sr. Mary says, “I would have to name the experience of Religious Life itself as the most significant and enduring experience of my life. Being steeped in Wisdom Spirituality, having a community that has challenged me to grow as a person and supported my desire to live a life of deep meaning and purpose has been the gift of a lifetime. My time of service to the Cambodian Refugees of Thailand opened my heart to the struggle of so many in our world who experience injustice and violence. My time on the staff of Loyola University of Chicago at the Institute for Spiritual Leadership and Institute for Pastoral Studies gifted me with the opportunity to relate and learn from men and women of many cultures.”

Over the years, Sr. Mary has dedicated herself to serving others and acknowledges that, although she’s not sure how to characterize how she is known in the Province, what she’d like to be known for, aside from roles served, is “a quality of listening and positive presence to others.” A three-time cancer survivor, Sr. Mary has volunteered for the American Cancer Society for the last five years, taking people to medical appointments. She also volunteers at Hartford Healthcare, in a program called “NODA” or No One Dies Alone, as a companion to dying people without family. Before that, Sr. Mary served in Rome, Italy as a General Counselor on the Daughters of Wisdom International Leadership Team, as Chairperson of the Consultative Assembly in Connecticut, and on the Daughters of Wisdom Formation Team.

Previously, Sister served for ten years on the staff of the Institute for Spiritual Leadership at Loyola University in Chicago, providing training in leadership and spiritual direction, after serving for ten years as Pastoral Counselor/Spiritual Director for the students. Before that, she was in Thailand, working with Cambodian refugees at a center for unaccompanied children, after working for six years as a School Psychologist and Guidance Counselor in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. She served as a hospital chaplain at Delaware State Hospital in Dover and Westboro State Hospital in Boro, MA., and was a teacher for a combined ten years serving in Virginia, Connecticut and New York.

Graduating from Our Lady of Wisdom Academy in Ozone Park, New York, in 1957, Sr. Mary went on to attend College at Seat of Wisdom in Litchfield, Connecticut and St. John’s University in Jamaica, New York, earning a BS in Education and Spiritual Director Certification. In 1974, she received a Master's degree in Education and Psychology from Boston College and an MPS in Spirituality/Transpersonal Psychology from Loyola University in Chicago.

Please join us in congratulating Sr. Mary Stuart, our “listening Sister,” on 60 years of profession!

Sr. Mary Stuart Celebrates 60th Jubilee

Sr. Mary Stuart, DW

Sr. Christopher of Mary

February 2, 1960, 60 years professed